Wairarapa MP John Hayes has announced that he will retire from Parliament at the next election.
This is a bit of a surprise really because until now he has shown every sign of hanging in there.
In September 2013 he said that he had no intention of retiring.
But he was facing a well communicated challenge from businessman Alistair Scott and it seems that Hayes may have read the writing on the wall. At least he will qualify for some parliamentary travel benefits.
Alistair Scott has not been shy about his ambitions and these have been publicly known for a while. His background, former Managing Director of Credit Suisse First Boston and currently the owner of a winery makes him appear to be a John Key acolyte.
The sense of carnage is palpable. One in 5 current National’s MPs are not seeking re-election.
I wonder if there will be any more?
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